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Trump tweeted Thursday that many U.S industries, including steel and aluminum "have been decimated by decades of unfair trade and bad policy with countries from around the world. We must not let our country, companies and workers be taken advantage of any longer. We want free, fair and SMART TRADE!"

Our Steel and Aluminum industries (and many others) have been decimated by decades of unfair trade and bad policy with countries from around the world. We must not let our country, companies and workers be taken advantage of any longer. We want free, fair and SMART TRADE!

Steel and aluminum industry officials were invited to the White House on Thursday, where the president said he would announce the tariffs sometime next week.

Saying the American companies had been "very unfairly treated," the president announced a 10 percent tariff will be imposed on aluminum imports and a 25 percent tariff will be imposed on imported steel.

"This is vital to the interest of the United States," said Dave Burritt, CEO of U.S. Steel.

Any action to impose tariffs is likely to escalate simmering tensions with China and other U.S. trading partners. Critics of such a move fear that other countries will retaliate or use national security as a pretext to impose trade penalties of their own. They also argue that sanctions on imports will drive up prices and hurt U.S. automakers and other companies that use steel or aluminum.